Who? Joywave.
On Thursday, June 23, I saw Joywave play a beloved venue in Philly. "Two people recognized me today," the mustachioed singer, Daniel, said proudly when he declared that the band was "finally famous in Philadelphia." The crowd cheered for success and for almost-alliteration. The crowd danced, sang, and jumped in tandem with the waves of joy that bounced around Union Transfer that night... and so the band's #2015WorldTourUSAPart2 ended ideally.
What? Lit alternative music.
Joywave approached my musical radar when they were featured on Big Data's "Dangerous," which gained some major attention among the other big alternative pop songs of 2015. And one of my favorite radio stations, Philly's 104.5, often played Joywave's "Somebody New." When I won tickets to one of 104.5's regular summertime "Block Party" shows, I looked up Joywave because they were one of the acts, and I loved the incredibly catchy "Tongues" as well as the rest of their full-length album, "How Do You Feel Now?" A casual appreciation of the dance-friendly, vibey tunes was just the first handful of impressions I would glean from Joywave in months to come.
In March, I saw Joywave open for Metric at the Fillmore, and I was one of the few people in the audience who came for Joywave. I love Metric, but my brother and I bought tickets to see Joywave again. We were very close to the stage this time, and we loved seeing the band boys up close. Not only was Daniel's mustache even more impressive that way, but each present personality contributed to the performance, and the songs just washed over us. The band played their new song intended for the "Alice in Wonderland: Through the Looking Glass" soundtrack, and I got a video recording of it on my iPhone. I watched that video many times later, thinking, "I know this song, and almost nobody else does." It was a special song, and since last Thursday's Joywave show, I know that it will be featured on the band's next album, which will start recording in July now that the tour is over.
Union Transfer is small, but it's new and clean; its relative narrowness behooves the life of a volley of energy resonating from front to back, while the closeness between the stage and the standing room creates circumstances ripe with opportunity to connect with the performers. When my friends and I watched KOPPS and Transviolet play, we got intense eye contact, a flow of movement from the performers' dance moves, and even a kazoo that Patricia (lead singer of KOPPS) threw. We met those bands later at their merch tables, and they were kind. Their effusive support of Joywave made me happy, and their music lit up the place. When Joywave finally took the stage, however, the group mind growing between the performers and the audience got even stronger.
Who else? You.
Most of my friends who saw Joywave for the first time that night ended up buying merch. This is a band that is worth investing in... you feel like you see this flame of originality in what they're doing, and you feel invited to claim a stake in it. Not really as a fan... but as a simple enjoy-er, because the music feels right and even tastes good, and the band just wants you to witness it. I literally said, "This tastes good," during the concert, and I wasn't under the influence of any drugs except maybe caffeine. And I can't explain that. You just have to like this music!
What else? Memes.
One memorable moment was during "Tongues" when Daniel, Joywave's singer, asked the audience to take a knee, and everybody did, waiting for the beat to drop and for the inevitable jump to start... but then nothing happened for a little while, and everyone hung there, suspended. Then, out of the silence echoed the abrasive beginning of "Destruction." The banner reading "Why Be Incredible When You Can Be Credible?" fell, and a banner saying "DESTRUCTION DESTRUCTION DESTRUCTION DESTRUCTION DESTRUCTION etc." was revealed.
The band had already played "Destruction," but that's the funny thing. "Destruction" has been played repetitively by Joywave as a joke for a long time, repeating tirelessly on live radio performances, in concerts, and even on the album "Swish" (where almost all the songs are just slight variations on "Destruction" and the cover art looks suspiciously like Kanye West's most recent album). "Swish" trolled many people, and I love the fact that Joywave made it. There's nothing wrong with repeating what's good. The second time the band played "Destruction," the audience got further into it, and that's a magical effect.
Seriously... go listen to Joywave. Buy their music. Their EP and their album rock, both as recorded music and live music. This band is up-and-coming without any stops. They have kind supporters, funny personalities, destructive beats, and the ambitious eye of the tiger when it comes to making their art. We'll certainly hear more from Joywave soon, since the work on their new album is commencing!
"How Do You Feel Now?" Well, hopefully... joyful.
